"I never asked you to save my life!" Zeke yelled at her, now battling a savage burn quickly broiling up inside him, "But since you have, I have done you the courtesy of sparing yours!"
Alex's look of terror then changed and she glowered back at him with insult.
Zeke only repeated his demand, "Let! Me! Be!"
A dry, cracking pain then surged up to his throat and he had to turn and cough. A drought was choking him, so he pushed Alex away as he strained. Watching him make such dire efforts for air, her psyche was racing.
At last, the question trickled from her lips, "What are you?"
It was enough for him to catch his breath and he leaned back up against the cooling concrete.
"You move faster than they do," she said, unable to keep quiet of it any longer, "You were worried about the sun coming up and said you'd be leaving at dusk. Now… your wounds are completely healed, but you look like you're about to drop dead."
He just sat there, barely staring at her with half his face covered by the dark locks of his hair.
"I've been fighting Chimeras nearly half my life, so I've seen enough to know that you're not human," she lastly said, her words now stern, "But you don't look like the flesh and blood feeding kind o' guy."
He only wanted to ignore her, but he was wishing for the impossible.
"No…" he conceded to correct her, his eyes with a sheen, "…just blood."
What he said delved deep into her. As he again turned to look away, Alex lastly realized exactly what he was.
The ruckus above ground had since ended, though neither of them really noticed. It meant Zeke could finally leave and he wouldn't let her stop him again. Just then, a snap jerked his sight to Alex whipping out a pocket knife and aiming its blade at her hand. He grabbed her wrist in an instant, startling her as she met his widened glare.
"What are you doing?" he scolded more than asked.
"You need it, don't you?"
Her argument countered his anger just as quickly. She spoke the truth. He also couldn't deny the temptation of her pulse racing beneath his grip. Slowly, he let her go.
"I could end up killing you," he warned her.
"I'd rather you didn't," she said, and winced as she cut into her palm.
As her blood started to pool in her hand, Zeke felt a burning heat rushing through him, searing a faint glow into the green of his glistening eyes and sharpening his fangs. He had to calm himself down as she finally reached out. Gently, he took a hold of her arm in one hand, while he used the other to perch her knuckles delicately on his fingertips. He was about to bring it to him when he paused.
"Do not watch," he calmly said.
Alex veered her head away without question, letting the stray tendrils of her wavy hair block her peripheral view. She then held her breath as he angled her hand and she felt his lips latch on to catch the flow of her blood. Clenching her whole body, the light brushes of his tongue gradually started to take more in. She didn't dare to move. Then, he loosened his grip on her arm and let his thumb glide smoothly back and forth over the veins under her skin. It was oddly peaceful and soothing, allowing her to release and finally breathe. They both heard a rhythm flowing through their heartbeats as he drank.
Zeke could feel his body rejuvenation with each precious drop. Soon, his grasp of her arm started to retighten, while the rest of him longed for more blood.
Suddenly, Alex gasped and hauled back her arm. Turning away, she cradled her hand while her pulse raced beyond her control. Her nerves were shivering down to her core, while her shaken stare was once again stuck on the dancing light of the lantern.
"Sorry…" she practically whispered.
"No," Zeke said between the last of his swallows, feeling a bit strange, "It was enough."
As Alex put a proper bandage around her hand, Zeke regained his senses. His body was again able to nourish itself. Seeing her lean back to the wall, she looked weak.
"You're right," he then said, "I appear human, but I am not. My kind has roamed these lands long since before the dawn of man, when the world knew only darkness. Our warrior clans have been at war with an ancient faction of humans for millennia. They created the Chimeras to fulfill only one purpose: to exterminate us. That is why my clan travels the world hunting them down."
Alex was finally able to look at him again. His words were harsh, yet sincere.
"I refuse to watch them slay my people without repercussion."
Her head gave a few tiny nods. Their looks at each other were actually settling.
"That's why we fight," said Alex, "Some call it revenge. I call it justice."
Zeke nodded as well.
"I've seen what they're capable of. They kill anything that moves," Alex went on, "I even know who created them… but I never knew why."
"Most humans are aware of us without even realizing it," said Zeke, "They call us imps… blood-sucking demons…"
"Vampires," she instinctively added.
"Yes…" he said, gritting his jaw.
What Zeke just admitted put Alex completely still. She sympathized with his plight, but she was total awe of what he meant by his kind.
"How often do you… I mean, how many…?"
"How many lives have I taken to sustain my own?"
She carefully nodded, wishing she could take it back.
"I could never count," he said honestly, "Our constant battles cause us to feed every few weeks or when our bodies must heal. It is not something we do for sport. It is merely survival."
"It's not that different from most other creatures," said Alex, "Humans kill animals for food all the time."
Her words caused Zeke to pause. He had never thought of it that way.
"We despise humans," he then grimly told her, "All they've ever done is try to slaughter us."
Now Alex was stalled. She wasn't certain if such a fact should alarm her, but as he looked back at her, it wasn't malice she saw in his darkened eyes.
"You are the first human to ever show me kindness," he said, before turning his sight to the burning lantern, "Certainly the first to ever willingly offer me their blood."
He saw her look down at her hand, a scarlet stain in the center of the gauze over her palm. She felt a tingle crawl over her skin as she recalled the sensation of him drinking from her.
A sudden digital chime then jumped them both and Alex eagerly grabbed her cell phone. Checking her messages, she found an urgent text and quickly called the sender.
"Oh, hi!" a excited teen boy answered, "How are you?"
"Will?" asked Alex, "What's goin' on? I thought we were doin' this tomorrow."
"Change of plan," he said, "You have ten minutes to get your ass to the park."
She could tell by his slightly mocking tone he was smiling, revved up for battle and overly pleased to finally give her an order.
"Eddy counted about a dozen Chimeras closing in on the west side," he added.
Alex froze in her seat just as Zeke sat up at attention.
"I just thought our fearless leader might wanna be there," said Will.
"You guys could've given me more of a heads-up."
"Well, you're usually all over this stuff."
She tried to resist, but she peeked over at Zeke. "I've been busy."
"So…?" asked Will, "You comin' or what?"
Lightly, she smiled, "I'll meet ya' at the park, little brother."
"Hell yeah!" cheered Will, "See ya'!"
Hanging up, Alex wasted no time and quickly started getting ready.
"How many are there?" Zeke asked her, and stood to get on his gear.
"Probably twelve or so…"
She could see his energy level had improved, but he still moved rather slowly. Then again, she didn't have any basis for a real comparison.
"You all good now?" she asked him.
"Not entirely," he admitted, but he managed to slip on his coat and strap on his sword, "I'm sure my clan will be seeking the same targets tonight."
Zeke watched curiously as Alex tightened the elastic at the end of her long braid and fastened a black handkerchief over her face below her eyes. She then pulled up her hood to conceal the rest of her head. In fingerless leather gloves, she gripped her staff with poise, its dull blade ready for battle.
Roars echoed over the rooftops outside, while thick clouds covered the stars. The rain would come soon. Dashing through the alleyways towards the park, Zeke's bounds were far less but of great distance, easily keeping up as Alex pushed her speed to its limit. Just then, he stopped, causing her to skid to a halt, before a dark figure appeared in front of her. Total shock set it when she noticed the five others behind him. Only a foot away, a man in a trench coat was glaring right at her. Then, he grabbed to pull off her hood and yanked the cloth from her face before tackling her hard to the brick wall, forcing her staff to drop and bounce on the pavement.
"How dare you!" he screamed at her, his hands latched fiercely around her neck, picking her up off her feet. "We have been looking for him everywhere!"
Zeke remained calm, "Stop this."
His comrade only continued to choke her and Alex fought and flailed for a breath.
"Enough!" hollered Zeke.
Finally, the glaring man huffed and let her go. She dropped to her knees, anxious for air.
Another fighter looked across at Zeke, "Chimeras are converging down river—"
"I know," he interrupted, briefly eyeing the human trying to recover, "Let's go."
Without further discussion, they all turned to head down the alley. Alex watched Zeke's boots march by in follow, crossing just in front of her. Then, as his clan began to leap and vanish from sight, an odd urge made him stop.
"I still don't understand why you helped me, but…" he spoke softly, never having said such words to a human before, "Thank you."
When Alex looked up, he was gone. Now alone in the alley, a cool rain began to fall on her.
The storm was in full effect by the time she reached the park. Her team was already there, wielding tattered weapons and wearing some sort of mask to shield their identity. Their ages ranged from teen to near mid-life crisis. All together again, their numbers had increased.
"Good to see ya' feelin' better, Noah," Alex said to their returning member.
"Oh, you missed a hell of a night!" declared a teenage boy, the same voice from her phone.
"So I heard," said Noah, who looked at Alex, "What happened with you?"
She could only shrug, "Just felt like a swim."
"And she made a new friend," added Will, "What was with those guys?"
Keeping her lips sealed, Alex shook her head, "Who knows?"
She just needed enough distraction to get them back to business. "Are routes mapped out?" she asked her team.
"We got eight headin' in from the west," said Will, instantly serious, "Five more from the south, along the old tram."
Alex was already scheming, picturing their assault down to every detail. Still, she found it hard to forget the past twenty-four hours.
"Okay," she finally said, "We hit the tram first and then cut off the rest."
Confirming her order, Will stepped up to put the end of his bladed staff to the center of their huddle. Alex did the same and the rest rightly followed.
"Stay strong. Stay sharp," her words longed to induce confidence, "And show no mercy."
* * *
Galloping fiercely down the train tracks, a handful of Chimeras was fervently hunting, saliva strung and flapping from their fangs. As they turned the corner to take the next crossing street, shouts charged at their flank and a whirlwind of machetes slicing into the sides of two of the beasts. More blades quickly hacked away while three more fighters launched a frontal attack, goring into another pair of foes with their rustic spears. Finally, Alex and Will hailed up from behind with matching staffs to dice up the last Chimera. The two of them together in battle was more like a dance they'd been performing for years, every strike flowing into the next with ease.
Blocks away, a few monsters had reached the east side of the district, sniffing eagerly for a meal. Mere blurs then whisked over the rooftops above, luring the creatures to the new scent. Then, a long katana sheered and echoed through the vacant neighborhood, spewing blood from one beast's torso as its top half slid and fell away. The rest were completely surrounded by shadows in trench coats, their various blades gleaming proudly under the dim streetlamps.
The last four Chimeras were stalking the perimeter of the vacant neighborhood, some chasing rats down the alleys. When a summoning howl broke past the rain, they each stopped to return the calls and started running toward them. Just then, one of Alex's gang sped in out of nowhere and sliced off one of their legs, before another teammate rushed in to finish it off. The rest of the beasts took off, with two turning down a narrow passage as the last one ran away. Still on the hunt, the gang split up as well.
Alex chased down the stray with Will and Noah trailing her. Tracking it to the next street, the three quickly stopped when a dark figure soared down and carved a pair of gladius swords straight through the fiend's burly body. The Chimera tumbled in pieces to the pavement as the victor landed light-footed to the pooling blood. His glare then steered straight at the masked fighters. Alex went stiff, staring at the man who had just tried to strangle her. Her comrades started to raise their weapons, but her simple gesture put them still. All of them only of resolve, the glaring man clenched the hilts of his swords with a huff, before he pushed off from the ground to leap clear up and over the rooftops.
"How did he just do that?" asked Noah, his voice cracking out of shock.
"So really…" said Will, looking right at Alex, "Who are they?"
Staring back at him, she had to refuse her guilt. She truly did see him as a younger brother, despite their obvious differences, but she still couldn't tell him. He wouldn't understand.
"Don't worry about them," she said, "Just stay out of their way."
"Didn't someone say that one of 'em pushed you into a stream?" said Noah.
"And took a nasty hit for her in the process," added Will, "It didn't look good."
They were both looking at their leader, waiting for her to fill them in.
"Let's go," was all she said, and the boys had no choice but to follow her order.
Amidst the labyrinth of alleyways, crudely welded weapons painted yet another one in deep red, the rain running it off in swirls as the masked human fighters took down another Chimera. Alas, even as Alex and the others caught up with them, their final target was getting away. They had no intention of giving up, but were put to a halt when shadows dashed across their path. The beast then burst with blood, severed clean through at the legs and head. Four warriors in hooded trench coats were now before them, each with a portentous stare. Just then, a swift gust dropped down from the sky and those glaring eyes were again only on Alex.
"Fall back!" she called out to her squad.
Gradually, they began to comply. But the man's glare only heated with anger. When he began to lower his stance, Alex was sharp to catch sight of it. Drawing her staff out in front of her, another squall of the air froze them both. Zeke was standing in front of his comrade, holding up a subtle and casual hand to stop him. The humans could only stare at the staggering scene.
"I said fall back!" ordered Alex.
At last, her team complied and the seven members gradually regrouped. As they started heading out, Alex lingered her sights on Zeke, still barring the conflict between them all.
He was listening carefully to their steps on the wet pavement as they faded away. Turning his head enough for a sly look back, she too was gone.
Chapter Three
AS THE SUN DAWNED warmly over the unsuspecting city, Alex left her house that morning weighed down by heavy thoughts. Hopping on her flea market bicycle, they followed her on her ride downtown. After sneaking into the public gymnasium to shower and change, she was ready for some distraction at the nearby community shelter. I
n the children's playroom, she joined an elderly woman to help with the kids, reading them books and playing games. In exchange for the few hours she spent there, she scored a free lunch and the kind cook gave her a bag of day-old muffins as she left. She then peddled to a homeless commune under the freeway. A few late in their years happily greeted her as she passed out the muffins. Graciously receiving their thanks, her next task took her to a small deli. She rode her deliveries all over the city, worked out the rest of the day and got her pay in cash.
She was just leaving her last job when she got a text on her phone. It was the message she had been waiting for. She peddled her bike faster, weaving around rush hour traffic and cutting through alleyways until she reached the pier along the wide, murky river. A few workers were loading trucks while a small freight ship was pulling away from the docks. Beyond stacks of wooden pallets and empty, rusted oil drums, Alex glided her bike to a back corner warehouse and carried it inside with her.
"Alex!" a middle-aged man called down, waving to her from the loft upstairs.
She scaled the metal steps in the makeshift house of steel and found a couple of her comrades relaxing in the living quarters. The limited space above the otherwise unused structure bore most of the proper accommodations, along with an elaborate setup of computer towers, monitors and mounds of papers filled with data spread across a long desk.
"Sup, Boss?" Will said from one of the frayed sofas, and her hand casually answered the outreach of his, "We got some new goodies."
Alex mirrored his beaming smile.
"Hey Alex," said the other teen boy.
Neither of them could really be considered men, despite what they had each been through.
"Eddy…" she greeted him, and saw the two of them caught up in a war-time video game on the pawnshop console and television.
She headed over to the elder man near the desk. Computer monitors displayed road maps and digital stills of an ordinary office building amid a massive parking lot.
"What's all this?" she asked, leaning over his shoulder.
"Our next target," he told her, showing her a few different screens, "Little Eddy over there hacked into a government feed to get these thermal satellite images. It's pretty apparent there's some heavy activity in the lower end districts of the city. They've only been in place maybe a few days, but more Chimeras will be arriving next week."